


The Yule Ball

by clone_club



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-14 05:27:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4552371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clone_club/pseuds/clone_club
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Yule Ball is coming up in Dean's fourth year of Hogwarts. Both he and his best friend Seamus have dates, but Dean does feel weird when he thinks of Shay with his date. But he doesn't know what these feelings mean.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm really sorry for the uncreative title and the shitty summary. I do hope you like it anyway :D

It was Christmas time at Hogwarts. Usually, Dean visited his family during the holidays, but not this time. This year, the school was chosen to hold the Triwizard Tournament. And the Yule Ball was a part of it. Dean already had a date: Hannah Abott, so he didn't have to worry about finding somebody anymore.  
He was sitting in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, his face buried in a book, but every few moments he looked up and peered at the other side of the room. There, his best friend, Seamus Finnigan, was standing next to a girl their age, Lavender Brown. Seamus didn't have a date yet, so he decided to ask Lavender out. His hands were shaking. He was nervous. As soon as he stopped talking, she answered. Dean couldn't understand what they were saying, but judging from both their smiles, she said yes. They talked some more and after a few minutes, Lavender left and Seamus walked over to Dean, grinning. "So, how did it go? Did she say yes?" Dean asked. "Yeah, she did. Thank God, not finding a date would have been really embarrassing." "Yes, I guess so."  
While they talked, the common room emptied, most people were going to their dormitories. "It's getting late. I think I'm going to bed. Are you coming?" Seamus said, yawning. "Yeah, I'm coming in a minute; I'll just finish this chapter. You go on." "Alright" He said as he turned around and left.  
Dean, of course, had no intentions of reading. He just needed time to think. The common room was almost empty. A few third graders were playing chess, and Hermione was reading in the chair in front of the fire place while Crookshanks was playing with a piece of fur next to her.  
Dean knew he was supposed to be happy for Seamus, but he wasn't. He had no explanation for it, but he was devastated. He just didn't want his best friend to date anyone. But why? Does he think if Seamus and Lavender get together, he'll not have time for him anymore? Or does he simply not want Seamus to be happy? No... That can't be it. Could Dean really be so cruel? He immediately erased that thought about himself from his mind. But what was it that made him so sad?  
After a while of not figuring it out, he got up and went to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the December the 18th. At eight o'clock in the morning, most Hogwarts students were sitting in the Great Hall having breakfast. While they were eating, many owls flew into the hall and dropped letters, package and newspapers. Seamus got a package, too. In the brown box was a black suit and a tie. The enclosed letter said it was from his mum. She wrote, that she wanted her son to wear it for the Ball.  
Because it was a Sunday, the students did not have any lessons that day, so shortly after they finished breakfast, Dean and Seamus left the Gryffindor table for Seamus to try it on.  
Dean sat on the bed with his back facing his friend, who was struggling with his tie.

"I think I could need your help with this", the boy said. Dean turned around, watched Seamus trying to bind his tie for a few seconds, but then got up, laughing and walked over to him. "Do you really don't know how to tie a tie, Shay?" "Well, it was never important until now!" Dean touched Shay's neck, undoing the failed attempt of his tying. Then he proceeded to do it himself.

"Wait, we have ties as a part of our uniforms! How do you manage to do those? he laughed. "Um… well, I never actually untie them, so that I don’t have to do it again."

When Dean was done, he looked up staring directly into Shay's eyes. They were bright blue and even more gorgeous than the sky on a beautiful spring morning. Dean lost himself in his eyes. He stopped noticing the world around him as he leaned closer to the other boys face. He felt Shay touching his waist and slowly pulling him closer. Their faces were only millimeters apart.

Suddenly the door to the room opened and Ron bursted through it. Dean felt Shay's hands moving away from him and he quickly removed his from his neck. "What are you guys up to?", the red-haired boy asked. "I was just tying his tie, because he didn't know how." He answered fast, so that Seamus couldn't say something wrong. He was sure that Ron wouldn't mind them being together, but he still did not want him to know. Besides, nothing bad actually happened.

"Mhm. Have you seen Harry?" he asked them. He didn't seem to suspect anything, so that's good. "No, but I can help you find him.", Shay responded. He took a quick look at Dean, but then followed Ron out of the room. "Don't you wanna change first?", Ron asked. Seamus looked down at his clothing, noticing he's still wearing the suit. "Um... yeah. I will." he answered. Dean quickly hurried out of the dormitory and sat in one of the chairs in the common room. He closed the door behind him.

After he saw Ron and Shay coming down from their room and leaving the Gryffindor tower, he went back upstairs and let himself fall on the bed. "Oh God what have I done", he thought to himself. "Now our friendship is surely ruined." He lay there quite some time, blaming himself. After a while he got up and went back to the common room. There he decided not to think about what happened and sat down at one of the tables. Seamus was still gone and most people were outside or in the Great Hall. None of his friends were here, so he started drawing. First he drew a picture of Crookshanks, who was sleeping in one of the big chairs, then one of Trevor, who seemed to have escaped from Neville once again. He drifted off and drew whatever came to his mind without thinking about it, until Crookshanks woke up and started trying to catch Trevor. The boy got up and saved the toad from the cat by taking him to the dormitory.

When he sat back down at the table, he realized what or who he had been drawing: Seamus. Quickly, before anyone saw, he threw the paper into the open fire. He couldn't get the boy out of his mind. He returned to his seat and leaned back. In that moment, Harry, Ron, Neville and Seamus entered the room. Harry and Ron sat down at one of the sofas, obviously in the middle of an argument. Neville had a weird look on his face as he saw Dean. "Oh no.", he immediately thought, "Shay must have told him!"

"Have you been inside all day? And where were you during lunch and dinner?" Dean completely had forgotten about the time! He looked at the clock and realized it was already 8 o'clock! "Um... Yeah I wasn't hungry and I wasn't in the mood of going outside." Neville didn't say anything about the incident, and neither did the others, he was so relieved. "Oh, by the way, I found Trevor. I brought him to the dorms." He changed the subject. "Oh thank God. I thought I lost him for good this time! Thanks." he answered.

More and more people entered the common room. Dean talked to Fred and George for a while. Then he had a lively discussion about how football is better than Quidditch with Ron. He tried to ignore Seamus as hard as he could. At 9 o'clock, he went to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days went by really quickly and it was the eve of the Yule Ball. Dean and Seamus both ignored the incident like nothing happened. All the students attending the Ball were in their rooms, changing into their gowns.

Neville, Dean and Shay were meeting with their dates, Ginny, Hannah and Lavender, at the entrance of the Great Hall. Neville looked terribly nervous: he kept rotating his thumbs; walked up the stairs a few times, to see if they were coming; and asked the two other boys if his suit looked alright. "Yeah, you look fine", Shay responded annoyed, after the 10th time, "quit asking!"

Finally, the girls marched down the staircase, smiling. Ginny and Neville immediately walked into the hall, while the others were building up a conversation. "You look real pretty tonight. Not that you look ugly at any other time than tonight." Seamus was dreadful at flirting. "Thanks." Lavender replied, she scanned the boy with her eyes. "You... um..." Before she could think of anything to say, Professor Mcgonagall cleared out the hallway. "Students ! In the hall please. Move in! Quickly! The Ball's about to start!"

The elderly woman looked around and as she saw the four students standing there, she rolled her eyes. "Mr. Finnigan, I must advise you that your shirt should be tucked into your trousers. " She shouted, making Shay blush. Embarrassed, the boy tried tucking it in, but did not succeed. He really seemed to have problems with dressing himself. Dean responded to the helpless looks by doing it for him. "Thanks", Shay whispered. Dean nodded, while the girls giggled. After that, the four of them entered the Great Hall, while Dean heard Professor Mcgonagall shouting after Harry.  
A dazzling blue pierced his eyes. A colossal Christmas tree was standing at the end of the hall. The sky could not be seen on the ceiling but there were loads of icicles hanging from it. The huge room was full of people, most of them talking.

After a while the crowd formed a circle and the Triwizard Champions swaggered through the doors. The people were quiet. The only thing to be heard was the music starting to play. The four champions and their dates started to dance. For the most parts that worked out alright. But Harry obviously had no clue what he was supposed to be doing.

"Harry has stepped on Parvati's foot at least 8 times now!" Seamus whispered in his friend's ear. Dean looked at him and couldn't help but smile: Seamus watched every one of Harry's steps with a big grin on his face, pointing out everything he does wrong. Seamus seemed happy and that was, what made Dean happy.


	4. Chapter 4

After a while, more and more couples joined in. Most people were dancing by now. Even Neville and Ginny! Lavender and Hannah were getting bored from standing at the edge of the dancefloor when Seamus broke the silence. “Lavender, do you maybe wanna dance?” “Sure”, she smiled as she held Shay’s hand and the both of them walked off. “How ‘bout you? You want to dance?” “Alright” Hannah answered shyly. They followed Shay and Lavender to the middle of the dancefloor.

Dean put his right hand on Hannah waist and took her hand with his left. He could spot Seamus when he looked up. He tried to ignore his friend whom he could watch perfectly, due to the way they were standing. Dean looked at Hannah and tried to build up a conversation to distract himself. But he just couldn’t help himself: he caught himself peeking at Shay several times. _Shit! What the hell was wrong with him?! He’s never felt this way before!_ Suddenly he saw Seamus looking directly at him. _Oh no. Has he noticed Dean staring at him?!_

All of a sudden, Lavender started shouting “Who the hell do you keep looking at?! Hannah? Oh my god! You got a thing for her, don’t you? Of course you do. Arse.” She turned around and angrily walked off. “Sorry, but I think I should go to her.” Hannah apologized and followed Lavender. “Wow. That was embarrassing.” Dean notified Shay, who seemed to be in a state of shock, but he quickly collected himself. “Oh, really? Thanks for letting me know.” Seamus snapped back. “C’mon, let’s get away from here. Everyone is staring’ at us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, but this is really short and kinda boring. It seems like I have some kind of writer's block:( But I am working on another chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

The two boys left the dancefloor and were sitting at a small table in a corner of the Great Hall. A group of girls passed their table, giggling and staring at them. They, like most people, were on their way to the dormitories.

“I wonder what they talked about.” “Probably about the thing that happened between you and Lavender, Seamus.” “Yeah, most likely.” “Shay?” “Yeah?” “Do you actually have a crush on Hannah?” Dean just needed to know why Seamus kept looking at them.“Me? Nah. I can’t just steal your girl.”

He took a sip from his butterbeer, which contained more alcohol that it was supposed to have. Fred and George stole it from the kitchen and were giving it away to their fellow Gryffindor students. So, naturally, Shay was a bit drunk. “Why were you looking at me-us?” He quickly corrected himself. Dean needed answers. He couldn’t bear it without knowing what was going on between them.

“Well, I looked at you ‘cause I like you. You’re my best friend after all.” _Best friend? Well, he wasn’t wrong. They were best friends. But… after what happened._ _Seamus_ _really didn’t seem to feel the same way._ Dean’s hopes were crushed. For some reason he thought there might have been the possibility of Seamus liking him back like _that_. Although Dean did not know how he felt about Shay, but he knew for sure that Seamus was more than just his best friend to him. Everything was just really confusing at the moment. He needed time to think about everything. Alone. Without anyone around. Especially without Seamus.

“Is something wrong?” Shay asked concerned. “What? Oh, no… Everything is fine.” He looked around him. Lavender, Hannah and a bunch of their friends were dancing to the upbeat sound of a pop-song. Everybody was having so much fun. And Dean, even though he was with Seamus, felt alone. He felt weird talking to Shay without knowing what he was feeling. Was this temporary? Or was something seriously wrong with him?

“Um… I’m sorry. I gotta go.” He jumped up and walked away quickly, hoping to escape Seamus’ questions. “Wait! What! Where are you going? Don’t just leave me here all by myself.” Dean headed out of the Great Hall and outside into the cold. The snow was crunching under his shoes. He felt the snowflakes falling from the sky melting on his face. Although the moonlight was quite bright, everything seemed quite dim. Some of the carriers were shaking and making some noises, yet it was still quiet and peaceful outside. Especially when compared to the chaos inside.


	6. Chapter 6

“Dean! Where the hell are you going? Wait!” Dean heard Seamus shouting after him. That just made Dean walk faster. Seamus, who was much smaller than Dean, had troubles keeping up.

Suddenly, Dean turned around, screaming at Shay. “What the hell do you want from me?! Just leave me alone!” He rather stayed away from his friend than actually communicate with him. He didn’t want the whole situation to get worse than it already is. “For God’s sake, Dean! It’s about that thing that happened recently, isn’t it? When you tied my tie?! I knew I shouldn’t have leant in to kiss you! I fucking knew it! God, how could I have been so stupid! I thought we could still be friends after the incident! I guess I was wrong.”

Shay was teary-eyed and obviously close to cry. Dean immediately fell quiet after the boy started talking. He just couldn’t believe what he heard. Then Shay turned around, ready to leave Dean behind, who started whispering. “Seamus. Wait. What did you just say?” Was it possible that he actually like him back?

“Stop! Seamus, stop!” Dean cried out desperately. Yet, the other boy did not even take a gander at him. Dean grabbed his arm and tried pulling him back. “What the fuck are you doing? Leave me alone.” Shay has gotten quite angry with Dean. He freed himself from his grip and stared running toward the entrance of the building. Dean, who was now standing alone in the snow, started to cry. Nobody could see him anyways, and if anyone could, he wouldn’t care.

He sat down at the floor, although it was freezing cold, and buried his face in his hands. He probably just lost his best friend for good. And what for? For something they agreed on anyways. Dean realized that they both have feelings for each other, but nobody dared to admit them. And now Seamus probably hated him.

He kept sobbing into his hands until a harsh voice cursed at him.

“Thomas! Get inside now or I’ll take twenty points from Gryffindor!” Snape was standing right in front of him and glared down at him. Other teachers had at least the decency to pretend to care about their students, but Snape did not.

Several meters behind him, Professor Karkaroff, the headmaster of Durmstrang stood behind him. Under normal circumstances , Dean would have wondered what they were up to, but his mind was too distracted at the moment.

Immediately he got up, bawled a “Yes, Professor” at Snape and hurried back inside. He decided to go to bed, instead of going back to the ball. He only hoped Shay wouldn’t be in the dormitory yet.

Luckily the room was empty. He undressed and got into bed where he cried into his pillow for a while, but shortly after, he fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Dean awoke quite early. It was 6am. Although he went to bed late the day before, he wasn’t tired anymore. He looked around the room and spotted all of his friends still asleep in their beds. For a while, Dean just stared at the ceiling, until he got bored and decided to check if anyone was already awake in the common room.

He left his bed as quietly as he could. Sadly, the dormitory was empty, and Dean was still alone, and extremely bored. He sat down in one of the chairs and closed his eyes for a few seconds. _Well, at least I can think through the entire situation without anyone annoying me._ He was looking on the bright side of being alone.

The problem was, he didn’t want to think about it. The more he thought about it, the sadder he became. He needed a distraction but there was absolutely nothing, or no one, that could distract him.

He let out a sigh, when he heard a familiar voice behind him. “You can’t sleep as well?” Dean turned around in shock, when he realized whose voice just spoke to him.

Seamus was standing right behind him. Just yesterday, Dean thought Shay would never talk to him again, yet here he was. He didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Seamus pointed at the chair across from Dean.

“No, I don’t mind.”

“Thanks.”

After what seemed like ages of silence and evaded glimpses, Dean finally found the courage to say something.


End file.
